Jacques Marinelli (born 15 December 1925) is a French former cyclist. He wore the

yellow jersey The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ). History Th ...

of leadership for six days in the

1949 Tour de France The 1949 Tour de France was the 36th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 30 June to 24 July. It consisted of 21 stages over . The Italian team had internal problems, because Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi could both be the team leade ...

before finishing third.

Background

The writer Max Favalelli said of Marinelli: "He is a

pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...

. His body is no thicker than a propelling pencil, his legs no thicker than runner beans. And his head is like a fist." Marinelli as an adult was 1m 62 tall and wore size 38 shoes. He was so thin and sickly-looking as a boy that his mother urged him to play

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

rather than ride a bike.Glénat Livres, nos livres vous ouvrent des horizons
Glenatlivres.com (28 April 2016). Retrieved on 2016-07-20. Marinelli nevertheless raced and came to prominence in the Trophées

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

. That brought him selection for the 1948 Tour. He rode the Tour six times between 1948 and 1954 but finished only in 1949 and in 1952, when he came 31st. He became the first rider in the Tour to write a column for

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...

, in 1949.

Budgerigar in yellow

He became known as ''la perruche'' during the 1949 Tour. Riding for the regional Ile-de-France team rather than the national team, Marinelli rose above his humble status by attacking repeatedly during the first four days. On the fourth he came second and became race leader, leading a field that included

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...

and

Gino Bartali Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...

. He exchanged the green jersey of the Ile-de-France for the yellow of leader. Next morning the organiser,

Jacques Goddet Jacques Goddet (21 June 1905 – 15 December 2000) was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France road cycling race from 1936 to 1986. Goddet was born and died in Paris. His father, Victor Goddet, was co-founder and finance di ...

, wrote in ''

'': "Our budgerigar has been transformed into a canary", a reference to Marinelli's small shape in yellow. The nickname stuck – but "budgerigar" rather than "canary". Marinelli rode above himself and exploited the rivalry between Coppi and Bartali to keep the lead for another five days, as far as the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. Marinelli still has the yellow jersey, although it has been eaten by moths.vidéo, radio, audio et publicité – Actualités, archives de la radio et de la télévision en ligne – Archives vidéo et radio
Ina.fr. Retrieved on 20 July 2016. He said: "For a great champion to wear the yellow jersey, that's normal. But when it's an amateur that's different, and then again my height, I think that's what contributed to my popularity."

Retirement

He stopped racing at 28 to run a cycle shop and then an electrical-goods shop in the place St-Jean at Melun, in Greater Paris. It is still there. He then became director of a branch of Conforama, a furniture chain, in the town and ran a company called Marinelli Connexion, which had 150 employees and ran delivery vehicles painted yellow. His was the largest business in the town. He was given the Prix

Jean-Claude Killy Jean-Claude Killy (born 30 August 1943) is a French former World Cup alpine ski racer. He dominated the sport in the late 1960s, and was a triple Olympic champion, winning the three alpine events at the 1968 Winter Olympics, becoming the most su ...

in 1986 by the Académie des Sports for his success in starting a new life after sport. Marinelli was elected mayor of Melun in 1989 and again in 1995. He left office in 2001.Barry, Didier (15 January 2001
«Ensemble pour Melun» avec Jacques Marinelli
''La République'' He was instrumental in bringing the Tour to his town in 1991 and 1998. In 1991 he rode part of the course for the television station FR3.

Major results

;1948 :1st place in Hollerich (Lux) ;1949 :

::3rd place final classification ::6 days in

;1950 :

Dauphiné Libéré The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centur ...

: winner of stages 6 and 7 :1st Madrid :1st Paris – Montceau-les-Mines ;1954 :1st Paris – Montceau-les-Mines

Background

Budgerigar in yellow

Retirement

Major results

References

Further reading